Semirimless glasses

ABSTRACT

A brow bar formed of zyl or other plastic material, or of metal, is provided with a pair of anchor members at the opposite sides of the center thereof and secured thereto, the bottom of each anchor member having a cushion member affixed thereto by a thermosetting adhesive. The upper edges of a pair of lenses are secured to the cushion members by a thermoplastic adhesive. In a modification of the invention, the cushion members are secured directly to the brow bar by the thermosetting adhesive.

o lJate tates [151 3,639,044 lair Feb. 1, 1972 [54] SEMIRIMLESS GLASSESFORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [72] Inventor: Farnham Blair,Alexandria, Va. 1,347,120 11/1963 France ..35 l/ 107 [73] Assignee:Benton Blair, Sanibel lsland, Fla. a part in- Primary Examiner DavidSchonberg wrest Assistant Examiner-Robert L. Sherman 22 i Aug 5, 1970AttameyBenton Blair 21 Appl. No.: 61,097 57 ABSTRACT A brow bar formedof zyl or other plastic material, or of metal, [52] U.S.Cl.. ..351/l03,351/154, 351/178 is provided with a pair of anchor members at theopposite [51] Int. Cl ..G02c 1/04 sides of the center thereof andsecured thereto, the bottom of [58] Field of Search ..35 1/ 103, 178,106-108, h n h r m m er h ving a cushion member affixed 351/ 0 144 15thereto by a thermosetting adhesive. The upper edges of a pair of lensesare secured to the cushion members by a ther- [56] References Citedmoplastic adhesive. in a modification of the invention, the cushionmembers are secured directly to the brow bar by the UNITED STATESPATENTS thermosetting adhesive. 3,243,249 3/1966 Lissac ..35l/l54 4Claims, 5 Drawing Figures mtmtnrza H972 $539,044

' mvmn'rom 5 FARNHAM BLAIR n BENTON BLAIR ATTORNEY SEMIRIMLESS GLASSESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common practice in making semirimlessglasses to secure the lenses to the brow bar of the frame by fasteningmeans passing through openings drilled in the lenses or by inserting theupper edges of the lenses into grooves formed in the brow bar to clampthe lenses in position. The present invention eliminates the meansnecessary for inserting the upper edges of the lenses into grooves inthe brow bar and it eliminates also the drilling of the lenses to formopenings for fastening elements. The device facilitates the changing ofboth lenses, or either of them, when broken, scratched or when theprescription is changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A brow bar is formed-of metal or plastic, andthe conventional temples are pivotally connected to its ends. An anchormember is secured beneath each end portion of the brow bar to supportits associated lens. Each anchor member is preferably of angle sectionand is secured to the brow bar. The bottom flange of the angle of eachanchor member has attached thereto a cushion member by a thermosettingadhe' sive.

Each cushion member has a coating of thermoplastic adhesive on its lowersurface, and when it is desired to secure a lens in position, thethermoplastic adhesive is softened by heat and the lens pressed thereagainst. When the adhesive cools, the lens will be attached to theanchor member by the cushion member and thus to the brow bar. Theheating of the thermoplastic adhesive does not affect the connection ofa cushion member to its anchor member because the adhesive strength ofthe thermosetting adhesive used for this connection is not affected bythe application of the degree of heat necessary to soften thethermoplastic adhesive.

For purposes of this application, the words thermoplastic adhesive"shall mean an adhesive which may be softened or have its adhesivestrength reduced upon the application of heat. The words thermosettingadhesive" shall mean an adhesive which does not lose its adhesivestrength upon the application of heat and is not affected by theapplication of the degree of heat necessary to soften the thermoplasticadhesive used.

The vertical legs of the anchor members may be secured to the brow barby small fastening elements passing through the brow bar and throughornamental plaques on the front of the brow bar. When plaques are notemployed, the fastening elements can be directly connected to the browbar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of a pairof glasses looking from the inside thereof, the temples being brokenaway;

' FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed sectional view on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing various parts of thedevice separated;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing a modified form ofthe invention; and

FIG. 5 is a simplified type of electrical diagram showing the means forheating the thermoplastic adhesive in preparation for mounting a lens.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawing, thenumeral designates the frame of the eyeglasses as a whole including abrow bar 12 extending from end to end of the glasses. This brow bar isprovided with a central bridge portion 14, having leg sections 16 andnose pads 18. At the ends thereof, the brow bar is pivotally connectedas at 20 to the usual temples 22.

Two anchor members 24 are connected as described below to the brow barat opposite sides of the bridge 14 and extend longitudinally of the browbar. Each of these anchor members is formed of angle section as clearlyshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vertical leg 26 of each angle lyingpreferably in a groove 28 to the rear of the brow bar I2. The horizontalleg 30 of each anchor member lies in a groove 32 formed in the bottom ofthe brow bar.

Fastening elements 34 secure each anchor member in position. Each ofthese fastening elements comprises an internally threaded socket 36 anda headed screw 38. In the form of the invention in FIG. 2, an aluminumor other type plaque 40 is secured against. the face of the brow bar ateach side thereof for decorative purposes. In this case, the fasteningelement sockets 36 are provided with heads 42 engaging the exposedsurfaces of the plaques, the sockets extending entirely through theplaques and through the brow bar up to and against the vertical leg26 ofeach anchor member. Thus, it will be apparent that screws 38 secure eachanchor member rigidly to the brow bar, two fastening elements beingprovided for each anchor member.

The bottom of the horizontal leg 30 of each anchor member has connectedthereto a cushion member 44 by an adhesive of the thermosetting type 61.The cushion member 44 is a thin strip of fabric or resilient material,deformable in nature to permit the adhesive layers to achieve goodcontact with the brow bar and the rough edges of the lenses. The upperedge of a lens 46 is affixed by a thermoplastic adhesive 62 to thecushion member 44.

In FIG. 4 of the drawing a slightly modified form is shown wherein thebrow bar 48 is formed of zyl or metal and no anchor member is employed.In this case, the cushion member 44 which extends longitudinally of thebrow bar 48 is connected directly to the brow bar 48 by a layer ofthermosetting adhesive. The upper edge of lens 46 is connected to thelower surface of cushion member 44 by a thermoplastic adhesive. Thethermoplastic adhesive may be in the form of a layer 62 on cushionmember 44, and thus, when the upper edge of a heated lens is pressedagainst this cushion member 44, the adhesive layer 62 is softened. Whenlayer 62 cools, the lens will be connected to the cushion member 44 andthus to the brow bar as the thermosetting adhesive connecting thecushion member to the brow bar is not affected by the lens-mountingprocedure.

In FIG. 5 there is shown a simple electric circuit indicated by thenumeral 56 for passing a current through each metal anchor member 24with one of the lenses 46 arranged with its upper edge in contact withthe thermoplastic adhesive on the under surface of the cushion member44. When current is passed through anchor member 24, anchor member 24 isheated and thermoplastic adhesive layer 62 is softened. After theheating current has been cut off, the adhesive 62 will set and the lenswill be rigidly attached to the cushion member and thus to the anchormember 24. During this operation the connection of the cushion member 44to the anchor member 24 will not be affected because this connection ismade by a thermosetting adhesive.

It will be obvious that the anchor members will be curved to correspondto the curvature of the upper edges of the lenses and also may be shapedto match the toric curves of the lenses. The anchor members do notextend downwardly to the pad legs 16, as this would limit the transverseadjustment of the lens by moving the anchor members along the brow bar.

In the event one of the lenses is broken or is to be replaced, the twosecuring screws 38 may be removed, thus permitting the associated anchormember to be moved out of engagement with the brow bar. A different lensthen may be attached to the anchor member through the use of heat whichwill soften the thermoplastic adhesive. The thermoplastic adhesive usedis of a type that will soften under temperatures encountered duringnormal use but will soften at temperatures below that which will affecta plastic lens. It will thus be clear that the lenses of a frame may bereadily changed. If a lens is to be replaced in the modification shownin FIG. 4, the lens is brought up to a sufficient temperature to softenthe adhesive. If necessary a new coat of thermoplastic adhesive may beapplied to the cushion member 44 before a new lens is mounted.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided animproved semirimless eyeglasses which accomplishes all of the objects ofthis invention and others. including many advantages of great practicalutility and commercial importance.

As various embodiments may be made of this inventive concept. and asmany modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinbefore shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to beinterpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

lclaim:

1. An eyeglass construction comprising a brow bar, cushion membersconnected to the bottom thereof and at opposite sides of the centerthereof by a thermosetting adhesive and having a coating of athermoplastic adhesive on their lower edges whereby said thermoplasticadhesive may be brought to an adhesive state through heating and lensesattached to said cushion members without affecting the thermosettingadhesive connection of the cushion members to the brow bar.

2. An eyeglass construction according to claim 1 wherein saidthermoplastic adhesive is of a type which will not soften underconditions of normal use but will soften at a temperature below thatwhich will affect a plastic lens whereby a plastic lens may be heatedand held against the thermoplastic adhesive layer to soften it so thatwhen the lens cools it will be affixed to the cushion members.

3. In eyeglass construction according to claim I wherein each cushionmember is a thin strip of deformable material elongated longitudinallyof said brow bar to the right and left of the bridge and having itssubstantially flat deformable upper surface connected to said brow barby a thermosetting adhesive and its substantially flat lower surfaceconnected to the upper edge of the lenses by a thermoplastic adhesive.

4. ln eyeglass construction according to claim I wherein each cushionmember is connected to a metal anchor member by a thermosetting adhesiveand detachable means for connecting each anchor member to said brow bar,said thermoplastic adhesive being softened to permit the attachment of alens by heating a metal anchor member by electric current.

2. An eyeglass construction according to claim 1 wherein saidthermoplastic adhesive is of a type which will not soften underconditions of normal use but will soften at a temperature below thatwhich will affect a plastic lens whereby a plastic lens may be heatedand held against the thermoplastic adhesive layer to soften it so thatwhen the lens cools it will be affixed to the cushion members.
 3. Ineyeglass construction according to claim 1 wherein each cushion memberis a thin strip of deformable material elongated longitudinally of saidbrow bar to the right and left of the bridge and having itssubstantially flat deformable upper surface connected to said brow barby a thermosetting adhesive and its substantially flat lower surfaceconnected to the upper edge of the lenses by a thermoplastic adhesive.4. In eyeglass construction according to claim 1 wherein each cushionmember is connected to a metal anchor member by a thermosetting adhesiveand detachable means for connecting each anchor member to said brow bar,said thermoplastic adhesive being softened to permit the attachment of alens by heating a metal anchor member by electric current.